JD Vance will meet conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg at the White House on Thursday, in a politically sensitive attempt to repair relations with Jewish Republicans who have criticised the vice-president’s views on Israel and his friendship with Tucker Carlson.
Rosenberg, host of the New York-based show Sid & Friends in the Morning, said he planned to challenge Mr Vance over his relationship with Mr Carlson and the level of US support for Israel. He said the meeting had been arranged at the vice-president’s request.
Mr Carlson, the former Fox News presenter, has been accused of using antisemitic tropes when criticising Israel. Mr Rosenberg, a longtime ally and friend of Donald Trump, has publicly attacked Mr Vance for continuing to associate with him.
“If he really wants to win in ‘28, he has no choice but to, at the very least, distance himself from [Carlson] if not completely disavow him,” Mr Rosenberg said in an interview on Wednesday.
He added that he believed Mr Vance “has pissed off the Jews and many Trump supporters”. Mr Rosenberg said he would ask the vice-president to commit to avoiding Mr Carlson and maintaining substantial US backing for Israel if he became president.
“I hope I can get some of those commitments. Do I think I can get it? I don’t know,” he said, adding that he expected to see Mr Trump in the Oval Office after the meeting.
The encounter comes as Mr Vance is regarded as the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2028. Some major Republican donors have said they would be reluctant to support his campaign financially because of his position on Israel, in contrast with Mr Trump’s close relationship with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Vance’s relationship with Israel supporters
Earlier this month, Mr Vance sought to reassure Jewish Republicans at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas. He expressed concern about antisemitic hate crimes and said co-operating with Israel was “in the best interest of the United States”.
He also acknowledged that some people at the summit might disagree with comments made by Mr Carlson, but did not discuss their friendship. Days later, however, Mr Vance prompted renewed criticism from pro-Israel Republicans by saying US policy in the Middle East could not be “subservient to the State of Israel”.
A spokesman for Mr Vance said the meeting was being held because the vice-president had been unable to see Mr Rosenberg in Las Vegas. “The Vice President was unfortunately not able to meet with him in Las Vegas during the RJC Leadership Summit, and of course wanted to make time to meet with him in Washington,” he said.
Mr Rosenberg described Mr Vance as “affable” and “smart”, and said he was “capable of the job”. But he made clear that the vice-president was not his preferred Republican candidate for 2028.
“He’s not my first choice. I’m a Marco guy,” Mr Rosenberg said, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has also been discussed as a possible candidate. “If it turns out Marco doesn’t run, and JD wins the primary, in the end, if JD is the last man standing, I will support him.”
Mr Rosenberg’s influence is largely concentrated in Republican politics in New York, but his friendship with Mr Trump has helped raise his profile on the right. He has also attracted controversy, including for describing New York mayor Zohran Mamdani as an “America hating, Jew hating, Radical Islam cockroach” and, on another occasion, as “a terrorist”.
He apologised for both remarks, although he later withdrew the apology for calling Mr Mamdani a terrorist and said he had been “exactly right” to use the term.
